The Record Player
by artemis-nz
Summary: What does it mean to live, to feel? And what's this got to do with a record player? Vague Touya/Yuki and Yue/Clow.


Touya walked home one day carrying a large, flat package under one arm along with his books. Yukito, walking along beside him, wondered greatly what it was, but his friend only shook his head a smiled a little mysteriously when asked what it was.

"You'll see", he said.

It was sunny, and Yukito liked surprises. So as well as being cheerful about dinner (Touya's father was a great cook), this seemed to add a little _something_ to the day.

They took their time getting home, enjoying the summer, and Touya did not mention the package again until that night. The dinner had been exceptional as usual, the tea delivered afterwards by a blushing, stuttering Sakura, who went all the redder when Yukito thanked her kindly and suggested she eat some candy he had brought over as a little gift for her hospitality. In the background, Yukito felt rather than saw Touya roll his eyes, muttering something about monsters on sugar.

It was dusk, and Touya finally pulled out the package, wrapped securely in brown paper. He opened it with care, then held out his hand so Yukito could see it better.

"A record", he said with surprise.

"Yes. The school had a sale, remember?"

At Yukito's nod, he continued: "Well, the music suite was cleaning out some old stuff too, so I got this for cheap. I don't actually know what's on it exactly – they seemed to think it was some old instrumental music of some kind. I guess it was an impulse buy – I just wanted to get it for some reason, even if I had no clue what it was. Do you want to go listen?"

"I didn't know you had a record player."

"Follow me."

Touya beckoned and, intrigued, Yukito followed him down into the basement.

It was dim; the light bulb gave only a little illumination. While Touya rummaged around by some boxes, Yukito took the opportunity to look around. He had never been down to the basement before, and so it was like an added dimension to the Kinomoto household, though he had come over many times before. There were dusty bookshelves, with the volumes of books stacked haphazardly and collecting even more dust. Everything was tidy enough despite the old feel of the place though, so Touya soon held up a smaller box triumphantly.

"Found it", he said, and something in his voice and the way he held up the box to the light gave Yukito a sudden flash into the past, and what Touya must have once been, long ago.

The two made their way back upstairs, Touya carrying the record player. Setting it up and blowing the dust off, Touya placed the record in and waited expectantly. The music started moments later, and Yukito was frozen in time.

Looking back, he supposed the music itself was not that spectacular. Beautiful, certainly, with the lone flute joined by violin and piano, but simple music for all that. And yet, it was entrapping. A voice in his head, the sensible one, knew that no music should be this powerful, to make the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end, and suppressed shivers vying for control, and vague flashes of images firing, each with their own unique feel to them.

"Yuki? Yuki! You're crying..."

Touya's voice was far away, and Yukito forced his mind to get closer. The music stopped, and the tears that Yukito had not known he had been shedding did not.

"You're crying... are you okay?"

"These are not my tears", said Yukito, knowing the words to be truth. His voice sounded distant, even to himself, and his eyes closed as his feet rose from the ground. A pair of white wings enveloped him, and everything was blinding white and silver before Touya blinked, and saw that Yue had appeared.

"They are mine", he said, and with a sudden sense of clarity, Touya saw that they were.

Tiny and shimmering, they made their way slowly from Yue's eyes. But for them, Yue was the same as ever. His skin glowed with its own light, his hair cascading down to the floor. Eyes were still ice-cold, expression still serious and intense. He did not make a move to either stop or hide the tears, but stood still and straight as always, and he seemed to look not at Touya, but at something so far away that Touya knew he could never see it. He could feel it though, with its small voice like tinkling bells, calling and laughing and crying and pleading all at once, and knew that this was what made Yue share his tears.

They stopped only a minute later, but Yue remained.

"The music is what makes you cry?"

"No. The memory is what makes me cry. The music serves only as the catalyst."

"Of Clow Reed?"

Yue's slight twitch of the wings was the only sign of a reaction to the name.

"... Yes", he admitted. "I remember... I remember things... a record player, old and covered with dust and not played for so long... but Clow brought this old record player to life. He brought many things to life."

"I'm sorry."

The words seemed inadequate, but Yue shook his head.

"No. You cannot apologise, for you have done nothing wrong. Tell me; why did you buy this record?"

His voice was only a little huskier then usual, otherwise he may have been as emotionless as he now looked once again.

"I don't know", replied Touya honestly. "I just... wanted to buy it. But my powers-"

"Are gone", said Yue. "Yes, they are. But they are also not, because nothing is ever completely gone once you have known it. The hint, the feel and voice of something you have once known..."

"Like a memory", Touya supplied, and Yue acknowledged the comment with a nod.

"I am Of the Moon", he said after a pause. "This means I embody certain... attributes, just as Cerberus does as being Of the Sun. Cold and Warm, Day and Night... opposites, him and I, yet of the same being, for it was Clow who created us both. I, with my memories, am of the past, and of memories of what once was. Music is one thing which recalls that past... no matter how long ago it was."

"You are sad, aren't you?"

Yue's eyes narrowed.

"Perhaps it is merely another attribute. If I am Of The Moon, I must be Somber as Cerberus is Joyful. Perhaps I am simply not meant to feel, but only to be in order to exist as what I was created as."

"No. You were meant to feel. Every living thing is. And you said it yourself – Clow Reed gave life to many things."

Yue did not reply, but another jewel-like tear fell before he closed his eyes. When Touya looked up again, Yue was gone.

"... To-ya? What... was Yue here?"

Touya nodded and smiled his reassurance.

"Don't worry. He just had something on his mind... did you like the music?"

Yukito smiled back in spite of his confusion.

"Yes. It was beautiful, To-ya, thank you. It reminds me of something, but I can't think what... never mind."

He blinked, and his eyes might have turned an ice-blue, but when Touya looked again they were the usual, softer brown.

"Shall we study then?"

The books were laid out, and for the next hour or so, both busied themselves making notes and re-reading passages. And through it all, when he wasn't busy writing, Yukito unconsciously tapped out a gentle rhythm with his pen.

**I've been wanting to do a fic that managed to incorporate both Touya & Yuki and Clow & Yue for ages now, and the inspiration just hit this afternoon. Tell me how it went?**


End file.
